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Parakeet: A Novel

June 12, 2020

parakeet

It’s the week before her wedding when the Bride sees her grandmother. Not unusual except her grandmother has been dead for over ten years and what she sees is a parakeet who talks to her. Grandma parakeet is worried about the impending wedding, but more importantly she wants the Bride to find her older brother, Tom, whom she hasn’t seen in seven years. She threatens her with ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary fiction, literary, magical realism

Weather: A Novel by Jenny Offill

February 13, 2020

weather

Lizzie has a good life. She’s an academic librarian with a loving husband and a young son. Her mother, although more religiously inclined than Lizzie will ever be, is in good health. Her brother has kicked his pill addiction, found a girlfriend and a job. Into this relative quiet comes an old mentor of Lizzie’s who asks her to answer the email for her wildly popular podcast. ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary fiction, contemporary life, humor, Knopf

Midwinter Doldrums: Mini-Reviews

February 7, 2020

midwinter

On Wednesday we officially hit the midwinter mark. Hurray! I’m halfway through my first Midwestern winter and it’s not so bad. Of course, by saying that I’m just asking for trouble. Unfortunately, while the weather has been cooperating, my reading has not. I’ve finished a number of books I discussed on my episode of Sarah’s podcast and in my own Winter Preview post and the ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: contemporary fiction, contemporary life, cultural, historical fiction, literary, women

The Mere Wife: A novel

August 2, 2019

mere

Just out in paperback, this was a novel I loved and thought deserved a lot more attention.   Maybe every monster is a miracle meant to change the world... Author Maria Headley dives into a modern-day retelling of Beowolf beginning with its title, The Mere Wife. This is no novel about a slight wife, a minor presence, a smudge of a life. No, the women in this tale ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary fiction, literary, Picador, retellings

Breathe In, Cash Out

July 19, 2019

breathe

Breathe In, Cash Out is fast and furious summer reading. Allegra is a second-year analyst at a large investment bank. It’s a soul-sucking experience, lived solely for the purpose of being able to cash out into something bigger and more lucrative after time served. But that’s not what Allegra wants. No, she wants to be a yoga instructor and get as far away from the venal world ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Atria Books, contemporary fiction, contemporary life, humor, new adult, New York City

Riots I Have Known

May 20, 2019

eight

Sometimes a synopsis can come out of nowhere and make you pick up a book you never thought you would, but it’s a dicey proposition because marketing people are wily devils. Their entire purpose in life is to seduce. But it still doesn’t quite explain why I thought a novel about a Sri Lankan male inmate in an American prison in the midst of a riot would make for something I ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary fiction, debut, humor, literary, satire, Simon & Schuster

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